A first-of-its-kind bill that would force social-networking companies like Facebook to give users in California more control over their privacy settings failed to pass the state Senate Friday, but the bill's author said she would bring it back for another vote next week.

The bill, SB242, by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, would allow users to establish their privacy settings - like who could view their profile and what information would be public to everyone on the Internet - when they register to join the site and before the information is publicly posted, instead of after they join. Sites would also have to set defaults to private so that users would choose which information is public.

Before the vote on the bill, Corbett told her colleagues, "It's crucial, members, for us to remember that our private information is not a commodity owned by the Internet to be shared and disclosed by third parties. ... In fact, members, we on this floor are some of the few people who can do something about that."

Companies opposed

The vote on the bill was 16-16, five short of the majority needed to pass, and several Democrats declined to vote. There has been strong lobbying against the bill and it is opposed by many Internet companies, including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Skype, Yahoo and Match.com.

Andrew Noyes, a spokesman for Facebook, praised the Senate's defeat of the measure.

'Wrong direction'

"Lawmakers rejected Sen. Ellen Corbett's bill today because it was a step in the wrong direction for California's growing Internet industry at a time when the state's economy can least afford it," he said in a statement. "Sen. Corbett is arguing for unnecessary regulations that ignore the extraordinary lengths that companies like ours go to in order to protect individuals' privacy and give them the tools to determine for themselves how much information they wish to share online."

Republicans in the Senate argued that the bill would hurt social-media and other technology companies, many of them in California, and predicted some would leave the state to avoid the regulation.

Building trust

The California Chamber of Commerce this week listed it as a job-killing bill, but Corbett said there is "absolutely no evidence" the bill would have that effect and argued it would benefit companies by building trust with users.

Sen. Mark Wyland, R-Solana Beach (San Diego County), called the topic a "really important issue," but said he thinks the problem should be addressed through federal legislation. Congress is not considering such legislation.

Privacy first

California has led the country in adopting online privacy protections, including a law requiring companies to inform consumers if there is a security breach of their personal information. That law has been emulated by 48 other states. California was also first to require commercial websites to post an explicit privacy policy.

In addition to the privacy settings, the bill would require social-networking sites to remove personal information at a user's request.

Seven Democrats did not vote on the bill, while two voted against it. All Republicans but one, who was absent, voted no. Friday is the deadline for this bill, and all other Senate bills, to pass out of that chamber.

After the vote, Corbett said she hopes that lawmakers would hear from constituents about concerns over online privacy and said she has received hundreds of letters and e-mails from across the country supporting her effort.

"There's no doubt there's still a big fight ahead. But you know what? I'm not afraid of it. I'm not afraid of a fight," she said.